Fall In Love
by Mysyticmoon
Summary: Naruko is set in an arranged marriage with Itachi and she is none too happy with it. She has two options, carry out the hardest mission she could to end up with the one she thinks she really wants or simply stop fighting her ever growing feelings and fall in love.
1. Chapter 1

**Fall In Love**

_Chapter One_

**A/N**: Apparently I like the characters enough to write a fic about them even though I no longer watch/read the series. My brother keeps me informed on what happens though.

**Warning?:** Naruto is his female counterpart Naruko

**Disclaimer: **Characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto-sensei, but you already knew that~

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x_F_x_A_x_L_x_L_ .IxN. LxOxVxEx

"What!?"

"You've known him since you were a baby, it's a good thing."

"No! He's old!"

Minato chuckled despite the situation.

Kushina looked at her husband with a reprimanding glare. She turned back to Naruko with a soft understanding gaze, "Naruko, hunny, these are our best friends and it would be a great thing to join our clans together."

Naruko wasted no time expressing her thoughts, "Why can't I marry Sasuke?!"

Kushina sighed, "Itachi is close to marrying age. He's good for you. He has a good job with a high position in his future and is very well-respected. This is a good thing."

Naruko looked at her father, her eyes wide and shining with a silent plea for back-up.

It was Minato's turn to sigh, "Sorry Naru, I agree with your mother on this one. Itachi is one of the finest guys you'll ever meet."

Naruko blinked, surprised. Her eyes then narrowed at her dad before they changed course to her mom.

"I'm only thirteen, I am not getting married."

"No dear, we set the date to your sixteenth birthday…"

Kushina trailed off as Naruko gasped, "What!? No! I am not getting married."

Kushina had had enough. She placed her hands firmly on her hip, her stance intimidating and her gaze unwavering, "Naruko, we already spoke with the Uchihas and it's final. You will be getting married to Itachi when you turn sixteen."

Naruko's eyes widened and shone with unshed tears. Her eyebrows knitted together in hopes of drawing out what little sympathy was left of her parents who so saw it fit to give her this information on her thirteen birthday. When nothing came she turned and ran out of the house. Kushina stepped forward to go after her before a hand on her shoulder stopped any further actions. Kushina turned to gaze into the blue depths of her husband's eyes. He didn't say a word; instead he simply shook his head. Naruko needed time to digest and come to terms with the situation and they both knew that all too well.

x_F_x_A_x_L_x_L_ ._I_xN. LxOxVxEx

Naruko didn't know where she was going. Her feet simply carried her and she didn't mind as long as it was far away from home, far away from the news she just heard. It wasn't fair, it was her birthday, her thirteenth birthday and she was glad to take that step into womanhood, but in none of her plans were marriage on the list, especially not to Itachi Uchiha.

When her legs began to wear out, she was able to see where they had led her. It was a clearing with a dock overlooking clear waters that glittered when the sun rose and shone with pale light when the moon was in the sky.

Naruko visited it a few times with the Uchihas. Sometimes when she was younger, both their families would come together and make picnics and swim in the water. Those were good, more simpler times. She took off her shoes and stuck her sore feet into the cool water. Alone she allowed her tears to fall. Once they began they slid uncontrollably down her cheeks: she could taste the salty substance as some made way into her mouth.

"Hey dobe, shouldn't you be home overeating your birthday breakfast."

Naruko gasped as she heard the voice. She tried swiping at the tears as she turned to face the newcomer; the smirk slowly fading when they saw her face.

"What…they didn't let you eat all you could?"

"Sasuke!" Naruko ignored the boy's words and ran to him. She threw herself at him and desperately clung to his shirt, burying her head in his chest.

"What's wrong with you dobe?" Sasuke's voice dripped with confusion and uncertainty. He slowly wrapped his arms around Naruko, almost pulling them away as she began to sob.

"Sasuke…they they…"

Sasuke gripped Naruko's shoulders and made her look at him, "What happened?"

"I'm getting married."

The hold on her shoulders loosened. Sasuke could feel his heart skip a beat. He stared down at the girl in his arms. Her golden blond hair fell freely around her shoulders and down her back. She had woken up not too long ago if she wasn't sporting her usual twin tails. Her eyes, bright sky blue eyes that seemed to hold a silent storm within them as they clouded and shone with tears. The rims of her eyes red from what tears had already fallen. Her cheeks were sullen and streaked with the tears also. Her lips pouted and trembled.

"To who…?"

Naruko turned her head and stared off to the side, "…Itachi," she felt the grip on her shoulders tighten again but she didn't see Sasuke's eyes narrow. She turned back to him: a determined look in her eyes. Naruko stepped back from Sasuke and held up her hands, "I don't want to hear any more about marriages or Itachi. I want to have fun on my birthday and just forget to remember."

Naruko grabbed Sasuke's hand and pulled him closer to the dock as she spoke. She looked at her reflection in the water before glancing at Sasuke. A mischievous thought crossed Naruko's mind and it must have shown on her face because Sasuke's features drew up in confusion. He didn't get much time to think about anything as Naruko shoved him into the lake. Sasuke sputtered as he surfaced only to be submerged when Naruko threw her weight at him taking them both under. His eyes narrowed as he resurfaced but softened shortly as he fully took in Naruko's face.

Her face wet, eyes glistened with an overly cheerful smile, and water continued to stream down her cheeks.

Sasuke splashed water at her face and looked off to the side.

"Dobe…"

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**A/N:**

There we have it, chapter 1. And also the break in the drought of things written and uploaded by me for what? Almost a year? I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to writing. So if I don't like something I angst(lack of better word) over it. And every time I try to write more, I just think it's not good enough. And look where that's gotten me? A USB filled with dozens of unfinished stories. I can't guarantee that problem is gonna go away, but I'll try to update things maybe if they are semi-decent. I feel like I've said something like this before…

Anywho, what do you think? Good? Bad? Or just plain ugly~? I don't mind critics, anything to help with improvement.


	2. Chapter 2

**Fall in Love**

_Chapter 2_

**Shoutout:** I want to thank **movielover312, adgenelia, PandaJean23, Ninja99, DarkEila **for having some of the fastest response time I've seen for alerting, favoriting and/ or reviewing my story. You guys are awesome and that made me happy. Here's chapter two.

**4DarkMirror6, 2468097531, DixiePixie2011, Mirianne, namikazeCP, phantompha0, Weasel-Fan94 **thank you for reading and fave'ing and/ or following.

To everyone: Enjoy~

**A/N:** No Naruko this chapter, but there's insight on the main Uchiha family household. However insightful it proves to be.

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x_F_x_A_x_L_x_L_ .IxN. LxOxVxEx

Sasuke entered the main room of the Uchiha family house. He stopped when he saw his father sitting back in a chair reading over the daily news papers. Fugaku didn't turn his attention away from the papers as his voice reached Sasuke's ears.

"You were with Naruko all day?" his tone made it seem more like a statement rather than a question.

"No."

When Sasuke and Naruko had parted ways, the sun had already left their view and darkness had started to fall. Sasuke had stayed out later because he had not felt ready to face home: not ready to face the people he would see at home. Afterall, Naruko was going to get married to his older brother. Their parents were the ones who planned it…unless the Uzumaki-Namikaze family made the decision and hadn't talked about it with his parents yet. Sasuke looked to his father: could he ask?

"Naruko is-" Sasuke trailed off as the front door opened and closed, and footfalls came closer to where they were.

Fugaku turned his head in Sasuke's direction and his voice sounded stern, "Is there a problem?"

Once again the words though seeming like a question were not. This one left no room for argument. Sasuke could not say if he would actually speak out or not, but when the footfalls had stopped and the room felt like it had acquired another presence, he didn't try.

"Hello father. Sasuke."

"Ah, Itachi."

Fugaku's voice lost its stern edge, and that was all that Sasuke cared to hear for the day. He said nothing as he walked off in the direction of the kitchen. When he entered the room he saw his mother staring solemnly at a spot on the counter. When his eyes trailed after what she was looking at he saw an opened cover revealing a well-made, well decorated cake. Something told him that if he were more observant in the family living area he would have seen quite a few decorations scattered about everywhere.

Movement caught his eye and he turned back to see his mother staring straight at him,

"Sasuke," Mikoto began reprovingly and Sasuke knew what he had done, "where have you been?"

He chose to stay silent as his mother put her hands on her hips, "Is Naruko with you?"

He shook his head and Mikoto sighed despondently and uttered her son's name once again, "Sasuke. Did you forget that you were supposed to bring her here?"

"_IsittruethatNa-o-s-ett-ngma-ied?"_

Mikoto frowned, "Speak up, Sasuke. I don't understand."

When it came to talking about feelings or talking in general, Mikoto was the one to go to. Whereas Fugaku mostly seemed to talk about business and by extension Itachi, Mikoto focused on motherly duties and cherished both her boys equally. So if he were to ask anyone-

"Is it true-"

Before he could finish repeating his question he saw his mother's attention switch from him to something or some_one _behind him and he knew that he was once again interrupted.

Mikoto smiled at the newcomer and Sasuke could mimic the words she would speak next if he wanted, "Hello Itachi."

"Hello mother," a calm voice drifted pass Sasuke's ears.

He tried to tune out the conversation that followed but couldn't. He heard every single word because it was such standard chatter despite the big news that surrounded them.

"I could not get all the things you requested."

"It's ok Itachi. We didn't have little Naruko's celebration today. I'll pick some things up tomorrow."

She then turned back to Sasuke, her gaze now warm and understanding as if without words she heard clearly what had wanted to be said.

When he said nothing she headed out of the kitchen stopping to rest her hand upon his head; the gesture comforted Sasuke and he knew that if nothing else, he could talk with his mother.

As Mikoto left, Itachi walked pass her and Sasuke and got out a cup from the cupboard. Sasuke had been watching his movements though. He saw Itachi look at him through the corner of his eye before he continued to get something to drink. Sometimes Sasuke believed Itachi could read minds or at the very least see into the future. There always seemed to be a reason for his actions.

Itachi sipped his drink leisurely and Sasuke willed himself to speak. When he opened his mouth Itachi carefully placed the cup down in front of him and simply stood there.

"Are you in love with her brother?"

Instead of turning to look at Sasuke, Itachi turned his attention to the still uncovered cake on the counter. Orange and blue icing intertwined to spell out, 'Happy Birthday Naruko.' He continued to stare at it before replacing the cover as he spoke, "I have a duty to fulfill. We do not always choose what path we take. Sometimes we only get to choose how we deal with the circumstances."

Sasuke's looked taken aback, "But that's not fair. Brother-"

Itachi chuckled lowly and Sasuke's words came to a halt. Itachi moved toward his brother, "You still have a childish way of thinking, my dear little brother."

Sasuke lips went down in a frown, turning into a pout, but he kept silent; his eyes trained once again on Itachi's movements. Itachi's arm stretched forward and Sasuke blinked when he felt the poke to his forehead. When his eyes reopened he was greeted by Itachi's solemn smile.

"Forgive me Sasuke…the only thing I can promise is to make her as happy as I can-"

x_F_x_A_x_L_x_L_ .IxN. LxOxVxEx

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**A/N: **Short chapter is short. Hope you guys still enjoyed it~


	3. Chapter 3

**Fall In Love**

_Chapter III_

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x_F_x_A_x_L_x_L_ .IxN. LxOxVxEx

When Naruko had gotten home her parents were not there and she was glad for that. Now that she didn't have Sasuke to distract her, bits and pieces of information would seep into her mind. Part of her- a very small part- knew she would have to think about it. But the bigger part of her mind wanted more distractions to keep everything at bay; the bigger part won. At least until her parents came home.

"Naruko!" Kushina's voice rang out and it was no doubt that she was mad; at the very least annoyed.

There was a still in the air and Naruko figured that her father might be trying to sooth her mother's anger with words. Though she couldn't quite tell how well it worked when her mother's voice rang out again.

"Naruko- get down here!"

And regardless of how stupid or 'dim-witted' people may have thought she was, she believed she at least had some smarts. And that smart part told her not to listen to her mother's words; so she instead huddled under her covers and hoped that the approaching noise she heard was not her mother's feet making way to Naruko's bedroom. When that proved unless, she feigned sleep. The door opened a little more roughly than it could have and the air got just a bit tenser.

"Kushina," Naruko quietly sighed at the sound of her father's voice, "we should talk about this tomorrow," and she almost nodded in agreement to his words.

No one said anything for such an extensive period that Naruko thought she would stifle from holding her breathe; when she had started that- she wasn't sure.

"Fine…" Kushina replied and Naruko heard retreating footsteps before her door gently closed. Naruko lay still for another minute for safe measure. She let out a deep sigh and slowly sat up in her bed to look toward the door. She then fell back onto her bed from the sheer relief of the situation and she realized how weary the day's events had made her. Naruko closed her eyes and drifted into a blissful unconsciousness.

x_F_x_A_x_L_x_L_ .IxN. LxOxVxEx

By the time she had finally woke up, she felt it was too soon. Though a look through her window told her it wasn't as early as she thought as the sun seemed to be shining its brightest in the sky. When she looked at the clock on her desk for confirmation, she saw that it was just minutes to twelve noon.

Naruko sat up in her bed and continued to look at the clock, then the sky, then her door. When she went to bed the night before she expected to be rudely awakened by her mother's yelling, as some of the words she heard her parents say indicated that her horrible birthday would have a sequel. Naruko decided to take whatever luck was being thrown at her and went to get ready for the day instead of immediately going to greet her parents; and when it came to that, she took as much time as possible. However, by the time she got to kitchen- no one had been in the living area- she was only met with her father.

Minato turned when he heard footsteps, "Ah, Naru- you're finally up."

Naruko just nodded before looking around searchingly, "Morning Dad. Where's Mom?"

Minato saw the look that passed over his daughter's face, "She's at the Uchiha's. I think she and Mikoto-san went shopping?" Naruko sighed and Minato smiled dolefully, "We'll be stopping by there later you know Naru-"

Naruko's eyes became afflicted and Minato continued, "But why don't we stuff our faces before taking on the day together huh?" a faint smile showed on Naruko's face. That was why she loved her dad, he was so easy going and they got along so effortlessly. She loved her mom too, naturally, but the two had such similar personalities and when it came to their temper, they could often butt heads once they didn't agree on a matter. Minato was the one who acted as mediator whether he was trying or not.

Minato got up from his seat and went over to the stove with two large bowls, filling them with the contents from a pot. When he came back to his seat, Naruko looked in the bowls and saw delicious looking ramen with roasted pork fillet. Yeah, she definitely loved her dad.

When they finished off their meals Naruko sighed contently and Minato chuckled before his face gained a determined look, "Naru, you know your mom and I only want what's best for you." Naruko sank in her chair, her head settling low between her shoulders, she was hoping she could avoid this a little longer, "I hope you know that we would never do anything that would not be good for you."

Naruko folded her arms dejectedly. Minato continued, "Even if it is Itachi, if he wasn't such a great guy I wouldn't even allow him to look at you for a second. Your beauty would be too dazzling for him. Every time you look at someone you release the Super-Mega-Naru- Blinding-Golden-Gaze," Minato held an arm in front of his eyes feigning being 'blinded' from looking at her and Naruko giggled, "No one would ever be good enough for my little girl. I love you Naru."

Naruko sat up in her seat, a smile lighting her features, "I love you too, Dad."

"So- you think you'll be able to play nice when we head to the Uchiha's…"

Naruko sighed and scrunched her face in mock thought, "I can't make any promises-" Minato raised an eyebrow, "but at least I won't pull any pranks. Scouts honor." she held up her fingers to show she meant it and Minato looked amused.

"Naru, you are not a scout," he laughed, "but that's good enough for me."

Naruko joined in the laughter until Minato abruptly stood from his seat, "Alright, let's go!" Naruko's looked at her father as he made to exit the kitchen. He stopped and glanced over to her with a sympathetic 'let's get this over with' look, and she groaned.

x_F_x_A_x_L_x_L_ .IxN. LxOxVxEx

On the way to the Uchiha's, the only thought that seemed to run through her head was, _bring on the birthday from hell sequel. _

When she walked through the door however, she reconsidered that maybe it was the prequel- or perhaps it was the remake of how things should have been...

"**Happy Birthday, Naruko!"** Naruko gasped as she looked around the room at all the familiar faces. It wasn't unusual for the Uchiha/Uzumaki-Namikaze families to hold parties for eachother. Each family member had established relationships among one another and they had somewhat become like one large unit. What was unusual was that it would have members not bearing those family names present. But what made it special was that they were all people Naruko knew, those who already were and were becoming important bonds in her life.

She looked up at her father beside her and saw his smile, and tears welled up in her eyes. She quickly swiped at them and went in to greet her friends. While she chatted with her friends, she caught sight of a long white mane and she followed it.

"Ero-sennin!*****"

The one addressed turned around, "Yo, Naru," the man saluted the girl and then ruffled her hair, "Happy Birthday."

Naruko swatted away the offending hand and then held out her own, "What'd you get me?"

The man lifted his right leg: right arm extended to the right, left arm out before proceeding to hop to the left. He clapped once and his body turned to the side, his left arm and now foot facing forward. He shook his head around, his long white mane following every movement, Jiraiya's here!" He rearranged himself into a normal stance and smiled at the girl before him, "I graced you with my presence, kid. Nothing better than that right."

Naruko blinked as Jiraiya made his way to the other adults. She quickly looked around to see if anyone was unfortunate as she was to witness that sight. What she saw was Ino and Sakura both advancing on Sasuke and when they saw what the other was planning they started to argue; Shikamaru sighed heavily, dragging Ino away and Sakura stuck out her tongue. Before Naruko could see anything else she heard a small voice at her side.

"H-happy birthday, Naruko."

Naruko looked over to the girl and saw her hand extended, in it was a plain white paper scattered with imprints of tiny blue periwinkles. When Naruko looked closely she saw that it was actual flowers that were flattened, and her face lit up, "Wow, thanks Hinata. This looks so cool. Did you do it yourself?"

Hinata's face flushed at the praise and nodded slowly. Naruko's smile brightened and so did Hinata's face. Hinata held her hands in front of her, pressing her index fingers together repeatedly, "I usually see you watering the plants at school. So I thought you liked flowers. I-I hope you don't think that's weird!"

Naruko laughed, "No, I'm happy. But~ next time you see me you have to say 'hi' instead of hiding in the shadows, 'kay?"

Hinata's face lit up in a smile, "Yes."

"Naru."

The two girls looked over at the voice and saw Naruko's father waving them over. Everyone else had gathered around a table with a cake atop it.

"Time to cut the cake."

Naruko and Hinata walked over and took in the cake. Naruko was just excited to blow out the candles and be able to have a taste. Over the flames of the candles, Naruko took in everyone's faces and blinked. Something was amiss and she didn't realize it before from the excitement of seeing her friends but now that time had passed and everyone was gathered around it was easy to figure out. Itachi was not present among the people in the room. An odd feeling passed through her stomach or chest; she didn't know if it was a feeling of lost of breathe, or lapse in breathe, or her heart skipping a beat, but it was gone instantly. It was just the realization because even if she didn't really want him there, these occasions usually had everyone present. Though, she wondered-

"Hey Naruko, blow out the candl-" Kiba was cut off by a smack to the head by Ino.

But Naruko got to the point that she had been taking too long, so she blew out the candles without any further wait.

Afterward, everyone ate and the adults once again gathered and talked about whatever it was that they did. Naruko instead took the chance to suggest that her and her friends go outside. It was nice just being with her friends joking and laughing together. It was even funny to see Ino's and Sakura's attempts at vying for Sasuke's attention. It was especially funny when Choji tried to calm them down and Ino told him to keep his mouth shut by stuffing it with the chips he walked with; she had also slipped up on calling him fat which got him angry at her which in turn made everyone else laugh- with the exception of Hinata, Shino, Shikamaru, and Sasuke. But it quickly stopped being funny when Choji thought they were all laughing at him which made him go after them also. And Naruko spent the ending of her party being chased around town by a pissed off Choji.

At the end of the day Naruko stumbled into her house out of breath and decided to go straight to bed. When she got to her door, she heard another door open and saw her mother walking toward her.

"Ah, Naruko, you're finally back. I put that pretty flower present in your room."

Naruko hesitated and looked down at her feet, "…Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"I mean about inviting my friends and making it fun."

"I know what you meant, Naru."

Naruko stayed silent, her face scrunched up in thought, "How did you get all of them?"

"Sasuke told me,"

A triumphant smile brightened Naruko's face, "Ha- see. Sasuke's helpful. And Itachi wasn't there."

Kushina's eyebrows drew down, almost sad, but her expression was inscrutable, "Right-" her response not one of confirmation or disagreement, "Well, I'm glad you enjoyed today, Naru. I'm happy."

Naruko bit her lip, "I know we don't agree with the marriage thing," she sighed, "I don't think it's fair. And sometimes I'll get angry or sad-"

"Naru-"

"But I still love you, Mom. And I know you only do what you think is best, ah-woah!"

"Oh Naruko," Kushina grabbed her daughter and pulled her into a strong embrace, "I love you too."

They stayed like that for a while- with Naruko returning the hug. When they finally parted they said their goodnights and headed back to their rooms.

Naruko collapsed onto her bed and stared at the ceiling as she recounted her day. It had been great and she wished it could have gone on forever, but as she finally allowed herself to drift off, she fell into an uneasy slumber.

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**A/N:** I kind of let this chapter write itself and it sure beat sitting thinking about it too hard. I liked the Minato/ Naruko interaction~

*** **Perverted hermit.

**Flower Language:**

Blue periwinkles represent- early friendship.


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